“You spoke with Phil. You know that’s not how he views things.” George’s disapproval showed on his face. He wouldn’t hear a bad word said against the duke —even if Anna had only been joking. “He’s surprisingly democratic for a man who could purchase a small country if the fancy took him. And lucky for you, too. In all his generosity, he might turn a blind eye to your theft.”
Anna gasped, swatting his shoulder when he laughed. “It was not theft and you know it.” She turned the snuffbox over in her hand. “I am but a humble servant of the realm returning something to its rightful owner.”
“Oh,please, George,” her cousin mocked, imitating her from earlier that day when he had called on her. “Please don’t turn me in to the duke. Take the snuffbox yourself. Get Alicia to do it.” He shook his head, jumping away from another assault. “Do those sound like the supplications of an innocent woman?”
Anna huffed. “I won’t dignify that with an answer.”
Partlybecause I am guilty.
Not of theft, naturally. She really had come across the snuffbox by accident. But she had only been able to recognize it as Philip’s because of the moment they had shared at The King’s Theatre.
She was guilty of lying to her parents and George. Guilty, too, of having developed a strange fixation on the duke, despite promising her friends to never think twice about a man. Her curiosity seemed only logical in her mind. She still needed to determine whether he was trustworthy.
Meeting the Duke of Wells should have been a footnote in the evening at the opera. For the last week, Anna had sat with the memories of being on stage, confident that no one in the audience had noticed that she had sung and not Alicia. It had been the best moment of her life, except for being intercepted by the duke. Despite agreeing to keep things a secret, she had been sick with worry after.
Before George could continue tormenting her, a cacophony of voices carried in the air toward them. The cousins turned in tandem as the duke and another woman emerged from a corridor with the butler. The woman must have been related to Philip. She had the same dark hair and blue eyes. Her skin was much paler than his, a stark contrast to the dark mourning clothes she wore.
The duke gave Anna a shocked look, and she froze. He couldn’t have been pleased to see her.
“Your Grace, Lady Kirkby,” George greeted formally—so unlike him. “I hope we are not disturbing you.”
“On the contrary, George,” the woman said, pushing past the duke. She stopped in front of George and took his hand gently. “I am delighted to see you after these long months. And I insist you drop the formalities at once. You will call me Elinor as you always have. Unless the new baron insists on honorifics.”
Anna saw George’s ears turn red. She stood in his shadow, casting a sideways glance at the duke. He was watching her with interest, making her skin tingle uncomfortably beneath her patterned muslin dress.
“And this must be your cousin,” Lady Kirkby added, gesturing toward Anna.
Anna dropped into a curtsey in response, then cringed when Lady Kirkby laughed.
“The same goes for you too, my dear. If George is forbidden from standing on ceremony, then so are you.” She smiled, and the expression was infectious.
Despite her dark attire, the woman had a warmth about her that was impossible to resist. “I cannot tell you how long it has been since we have had a lovely young lady cross the threshold of this house. Truly, my brother did not overestimate your beauty. You light up the space around you.”
“My beauty?” Anna echoed, looking hurriedly between Lady Kirkby and the duke.
Hadhecalled her beautiful? The compliment surprised her.
She couldn’t stop the heat from rising to her face. “I… I am afraid I am at a disadvantage.”
“Forgive me,” Lady Kirkby said with a laugh, taking her by the arm and turning toward the duke. “It is improper to discuss such things, I know. But my brother and I were just talking about you—talking quite seriously at that.”
“You were?” George asked.
Things were growing more confusing by the second. George shot her a bewildered yet hopeful look. Anna noticed the duke tensing up. Something was wrong.
Finally, the duke stepped forward. The sight of him took Anna’s breath away as he entered a patch of sunlight.
“Elinor, please—” he tried to interject.
But his sister cut him off. “No, I won’t be silenced on this. You know how society’s rules tire me. It is always better to speak honestly. It behooves me to let our esteemed guest know the effect she has on those around her.” She smiled then, patting Anna’s gloved hand.
Anna clenched her fingers around the snuffbox, hiding it from her.
“I only wish I, too, had heard you sing the other evening. From what I read in the papers, it seems you were a triumph.”
Suddenly, Anna’s heart sank to her feet. She started, her eyes going wide.
Does the duke know that I performed instead of Alicia? How did he come to that conclusion? He couldn’t have. Not on his own. Which means…
